Ayodhya Ram Mandir: 'Shankaracharyas will come for darshan of Ram Lalla at an opportune time'
VHP working president Alok Kumar clarified that only Jyotirpeeth Shankaracharya opposed the ceremony, while Dwarka and Shringeri Shankaracharyas endorsed it. Statements attributed to the latter were deemed misleading
FollowIn response to earlier reports suggesting that four Shankaracharyas would refrain from participating in the upcoming 'pran pratishtha' (consecration) ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, two of them have now publicly declared their support for the event. Alok Kumar, the working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), announced that statements from Dwarka and Shringeri Shankaracharyas endorsing the 'pran pratishtha' are already in the public domain. Additionally, the Puri Shankaracharya is also favouring the ceremony, with plans to visit for darshan of Ram Lalla at an opportune time. Alok Kumar clarified that while Jyotirpeeth Shankaracharya had expressed reservations against the ceremony, the remaining three Shankaracharyas have disavowed statements attributed to them, asserting their full support for the event.
Shankaracharya of Shringeri Peeth, Swami Bharati Teerth, and Shankaracharya of Dwarka Peeth, Swami Sadananda Saraswati, issued statements emphasizing the joy this ceremony brings to the followers of Sanatan Dharma. Dwarka Peeth's written statement highlighted that certain media reports were unauthorized, lacking the Shankaracharya's permission.
Similarly, a statement from Shringeri Peeth refuted the impression that the Shankaracharya opposed the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony, labelling it as propaganda by adversaries of the religion. The statement encouraged believers to participate in the pious occasion.
Earlier, in a video message, Jyotirpeeth Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati had announced that none of the four Shankaracharyas would attend the ceremony, expressing concerns about it occurring before the completion of temple construction. He emphasized the duty of Shankaracharyas to ensure proper adherence to religious scriptures.
The controversy arose on January 4 when Shankaracharya of Puri, Nischalananda Saraswati, stated that he would skip the consecration ceremony due to his awareness of the dignity of his position. Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati had previously supported a candidate of Ram Rajya Parishad in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls against PM Modi in Varanasi and participated in a dharna after his candidature was rejected.
